Written Answers Wednesday 6 May 2009

Scottish Executive

2014 Commonwealth Games

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to use the opportunity provided by the 2014 Commonwealth Games to enable children and young people to engage in informal, active and spontaneous free play.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government commissioned Young Scot to engage children and young people in the legacy planning of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Through a national survey, peer led investigation teams and a national discussion day children and young people were able to explain to officials what they want from the 2014 games. Work is currently underway to ensure that they continue to have an integral, active and sustained role in the shaping of the 2014 Commonwealth Games legacy and are able to both shape it and benefit from it.

  We will use the 2014 Commonwealth Games to provide opportunities for everyone, irrespective of age or ability to become more active. Central to this goal will be the CommonHealth Programme. This will aim to create a popular and high-profile movement which motivates people across Scotland to become more active in the run up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games and beyond. It is a unique and ambitious programme which will bring together and build on the wide range of health, sports and physical activity initiatives already in place. It will be delivered in partnership with local councils, health boards, voluntary organisations and businesses across the country. It will also will work alongside the other legacy programmes and national initiatives to improve the nation’s health such as the Take Life On campaign.

  We will help establish the infrastructure for sport at local level and by specifically implementing a network of Community Sports Hubs across Scotland. Community Sports Hubs is a new, fresh concept that builds on existing good practice. The hubs are the vibrant communities in which physical activity and sport take place using existing resources in new ways. They will provide significant additional impetus to the achievement of Reaching Higher objectives, in particular the development of strong organisations and well trained people. The hubs will be a central focus for schools, local sports clubs and youth groups to get together raising participation and improving social networks. Whether in an urban or rural setting, the hub could be centred on a community or based at a secondary school, a local authority or trust sports facility, an higher/further education sports centre or a locally run community facility.

2014 Commonwealth Games

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to use the opportunity provided by the 2014 Commonwealth Games to encourage children and young people to become fitter and healthier.

Shona Robison: The government have stated that they want health to be at the heart of the 2014 Commonwealth Games legacy.

  Central to this will be the development of an ambitious CommonHealth Programme which will seek to motivate people of all ages and abilities to become more active in the run up to the 2014 games and beyond. The programme will bring together and build on the many health, sports and physical activity initiatives already in place and be delivered in partnership with local councils, health boards, voluntary organisations and businesses across the country. It will also be supported by the other legacy programmes and national initiatives already in place to improve the nation’s health, such as community sports hubs, which will provide improved access to facilities and increase opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to become more active.

Ambulance Service

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulance car drivers were employed by the Scottish Ambulance Service as of 1 April 2009, broken down by division.

Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20573, on 27 February 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Apprenticeships

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria were used to allocate invitations to the Apprenticeship Summit and whether all major stakeholders will have the opportunity to attend.

Fiona Hyslop: The Apprenticeship Summit provided a very important opportunity to talk directly to employers about how we can support them in their skills investment during the current economic climate and beyond.

  There were 150 delegates at the Apprenticeship Summit. 100 of which were representing employers from the public and private sectors, seven representing the Scottish Trade Unions Congress, five representing Sector Skills Councils, five representing private training providers and five representing Scotland’s Colleges. In addition, there were 15 facilitators from a mix of employer and umbrella bodies and 15 scribes from Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland.

  Follow on sessions with Sector Skills Councils, other sector representative bodies, training providers and colleges, led by ministers, will ensure further engagement with stakeholders.

Central Heating Programme

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many central heating systems were installed under its central heating programme in each year since 1999 and how many have been installed in 2009.

Alex Neil: The central heating programme did not start until 2001 and was completed for local authorities by March 2004 and housing associations by December 2004. Due to the number of properties involved Glasgow Housing Association did not finish its part of the programme until March 2007.

  The number of central heating systems installed, under the central heating programme, in the private sector, is shown in the following table:

  Number of Systems Installed in the Private Sector

  

 Year
 No. Systems Installed in the Private Sector


 2001-02
 3,560


 2002-03
 5,500


 2003-04
 10,200


 2004-05
 13,022


 2005-06
 14,053


 2006-07 
 10,238


 2007-08
 14,369


 2008-09 
 14,430


 Totals
 85,372



  The number of central heating systems installed, under the central heating programme, in the public sector, is shown in the following table:

  Number of Systems Installed in the Public Sector

  

 Year
 No. Systems Installed in the Public Sector


 2001-02
 4,948


 2002-03
 5,720


 2003-04
 6,588


 2004-05
 2,720


 2005-06
 1,949


 2006-07 
 4,156


 2007-08
 0


 2008-09 
 0


 Totals
 26,081

Child Protection

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether recent changes to the legal aid system will allow victims of historic child abuse to seek redress through the courts.

Adam Ingram: The changes to legal aid that came into force on 7 April 2009 extended the financial eligibility thresholds, allowing a million more Scots to be potentially eligible for legal aid if they have a disposable income of £25,000 or less. In addition to financial qualification, applicants must meet two other statutory tests: they must have a legal basis for the case and it must be reasonable in the particular circumstances of the case that they should receive legal aid. This applies to all applicants, including those seeking to make claims in relation to historic child abuse.

Child Protection

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to requests from victims of historic child abuse for legal support to take their cases through the courts.

Adam Ingram: While part of the remit of the In Care Survivors Service Scotland is to provide an advocacy and signposting service on accessing the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and other relevant legal services, it was not set up to provide legal support to help survivors take their cases through the courts. Survivors can, however, be supported by staff to access legal representation and to attend court.

Children and Young People

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what obligations are placed on the criminal justice system as a result of the Getting it Right for Every Child programme.

Adam Ingram: The Getting it Right for Every Child programme is a long-term transformational change programme across services’ culture, systems and practice to improve outcomes for children and young people across Scotland. It is being developed through pathfinder projects and learning partnerships rather than legislation and thus does not impose any statutory obligations although the relevant police forces are key partners in these projects.

Children and Young People

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what obligations are placed on the prosecution service as a result of the Getting it Right for Every Child programme.

Adam Ingram: The Getting it Right for Every Child programme is a long-term transformational change programme across services’ culture, systems and practice to improve outcomes for children and young people across Scotland. It is being developed through pathfinder projects and learning partnerships rather than legislation and thus does not impose any statutory obligations. As the programme focuses on ensuring that children and young people receive appropriate, proportionate and timely support its implications, in terms of the criminal justice system, are more for the police as a service responding immediately to children and young people who may have support needs rather than the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Children with Special Needs

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the legal requirements are for detailing the level of support and service provision that must be included in coordinated support plans for children with special needs.

Adam Ingram: Section 9(2) of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 provides that a co-ordinated support plan must contain certain information, including the education authority’s conclusions as to the factor or factors from which the additional support needs of the child or young person arise, the educational objectives sought to be achieved taking account of those factors, the additional support required to achieve those objectives and those who will provide this support.

  The Additional Support for Learning (Co-ordinated Support Plan) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2005 prescribe the form and content of the co-ordinated support plan, the time limits and expectations to those time limits to be complied with in preparing and reviewing the plan, the keeping, transfer, disclosure and discontinuance of the plan.

Children with Special Needs

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the provision of support for children with special needs in schools.

Adam Ingram: As part of their general inspection programme Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) continue to review and report on provision for children with additional support needs in all schools across Scotland. They also report on specific aspects of provision and have, for example, published reports on the education of children with dyslexia and on those with autism. In addition, in November 2007, they published a report, commissioned by the government, on the evaluation of the implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.

  Where required the Scottish Government will also commission independent research. For example, it has in the past commissioned research into the impact of mainstream education in schools in Scotland which was published in January 2006.

Crime

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes were committed in each hospital in the Lothians region in each of the last five years.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally.

  The Scottish Government does not hold individualised data on any crimes or offences recorded by the eight police forces in Scotland, and as such does not hold information on the victims of crimes or the location at which the crime took place. As such it is not possible to identify how many crimes were committed in each hospital in the Lothians region in each of the last five years.

Digital Technology

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13481 by Jim Mather on 5 June 2008, whether it will provide an update on the steps it is taking to encourage choice of broadband provider in the Western Isles and confirm how many broadband providers have gained access to the Connected Communities network.

Jim Mather: A choice of broadband providers is available from all of the exchanges that BT enabled commercially on the Western Isles. The responsibility for encouraging a choice of providers on the Connected Communities network falls to Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) which deals with all operational matters around the network’s design and delivery and management. The Connected Communities network is a wholesale network which is open to any broadband provider who wishes to offer its services, however currently, only one such provider has taken advantage of this opportunity. HIE continues to market the network to other broadband providers, and is currently in discussion with a number of providers who may be interested in providing an alternative service over the network.

Digital Technology

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects targets for broadband coverage being provided under contract by Avanti Caledonian Broadband Ltd to be met in the timescales originally envisaged.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has made significant progress in deployment of the Broadband Reach Project. We expect completion of delivery by the end of May 2009 for all those who registered for the project prior to the original deadline of 31 March 2008.

Digital Technology

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would be possible to transfer the Connected Communities network, established by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, to a different broadband service on the island of Barra and whether any other service might provide wider internet coverage.

Jim Mather: Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which deals with all operational matters around the design, delivery and management of Connected Communities, has advised me that there is no alternative broadband service covering the whole of Barra, to which to transfer the Connected Communities network. It is not possible to know if an alternative broadband service would provide wider coverage than that provided by the Connected Communities network. Furthermore, the Connected Communities network is providing broadband services to those end-users unable to obtain a broadband service from the BT broadband-enabled exchange in Castlebay in the south of Barra. There have been no reported instances of any end-user from the Northbay and Eoligarry areas in the north of Barra who has requested a service from Connected Communities but who has been unable to be provided with one.

Digital Technology

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many residents of the island of Barra have had access to reliable broadband internet under the Connected Communities initiative.

Jim Mather: Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which deals with all operational matters around the design, delivery and management of Connected Communities, has confirmed that 23 Barra residents currently have access to a reliable broadband service through Connected Communities, with another 21 "live" orders which are ready for installation now. Connected Communities’ orders in Barra therefore currently total 44. This comprises 26 connections in the Northbay area, and also another 18 in the Castlebay area, from premises unable to receive a BT broadband service due to distance from the exchange. Furthermore, HIE is unaware of any resident who wishes to order a service but who has been unable to do so, in the Connected Communities designated coverage area in Barra (Eoligarry and Northbay).

Digital Technology

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether residents of the Western Isles who are linked to the Connected Communities initiative, such as people on the island of Barra, have access to a choice of broadband service provider.

Jim Mather: The Connected Communities network is a wholesale network which is open to any broadband provider who wishes to offer its services, however currently, only one such provider has taken advantage of this opportunity. Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which deals with all operational issues around the network’s design, delivery and management, continues to market the network to other broadband providers, and is currently in discussion with a number of providers who may be interested in providing an alternative service over the network.

Disclosure Scotland

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review procedures used by Disclosure Scotland in processing applications.

Adam Ingram: There is no plan to review the procedures for processing applications at this time. Disclosure Scotland currently has in place quality assurance and quality improvement procedures. This oversight of processing arrangements allows the identification of aspects of the operation that could be improved, and makes possible changes which will bring benefits to users of the service.

Disclosure Scotland

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reviewed the decision to make it possible to apply for standard and enhanced disclosure checks online and, if so, whether it will publish its review.

Adam Ingram: All of the existing IT system was reviewed as part of the programme to deliver the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. A new IT system is being developed to deliver the PVG Scheme and the remaining disclosure checks under Part 5 of the Police Act 1997. That new IT system will replace the current IT system and will offer the possibility of standard and enhanced disclosure applications being made online. We have not yet announced a date for when the PVG Scheme will go live.

Disclosure Scotland

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, following publication of the Bichard Inquiry Report in 2004, what progress has been made by Disclosure Scotland in relation to accessing foreign conviction information.

Adam Ingram: It is still not possible to access foreign conviction information unless that information has been transferred to the UK and recorded in the central records searched by Disclosure Scotland.

  We are working with colleagues in the UK Government to secure access to information from a number of countries elsewhere in the world where the national law of those countries allows information about their citizens to be transferred to Scotland for the purposes of criminal record checks.

  To prepare for such agreements, we have brought forward an amendment in section 79 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill that will, if enacted, give Disclosure Scotland access to information from outwith the UK subject to our reaching agreement with overseas jurisdictions to share information with us for the purposes of Part 5 of the Police Act and PVG Scheme, and Parliament approving the necessary Order.

  Separately, Disclosure Scotland has been working with Irish counterparts and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland to enable information from Ireland to be requested in connection with enhanced disclosure applications. Agreement has now been reached and a Memorandum of Understanding to support it will be signed in the near future.

Disclosure Scotland

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Disclosure Scotland plans to review the service level target of 90% of applications processed within 14 calendar days, particularly with regard to standard and enhanced disclosure checks.

Adam Ingram: We have no plans to review the service level target now. We intend to introduce the PVG Scheme in Scotland next year and a consequence of that will mean that around 90% of applications for the enhanced disclosure carried out under Part 5 of the Police Act 1997 will transfer into the PVG Scheme. The PVG Scheme will also introduce a number of new checks and service level targets for that work. At that time we will also reappraise the service level targets for the work under the Police Act 1997.

Drug Misuse

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many recorded convictions there have been for drug trafficking in each of the last five years, broken down by sheriff court.

Fergus Ewing: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Drug Trafficking1,2, by Court, 2003-04 to 2007-08

  

 Court
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Sheriff Court 
 
 
 
 
 


 Aberdeen 
 57
 88
 108
 122
 128


 Airdrie 
 25
 29
 43
 33
 34


 Alloa 
 28
 27
 22
 16
 32


 Arbroath 
 12
 18
 16
 28
 22


 Ayr 
 40
 29
 43
 55
 62


 Banff 
 9
 5
 3
 7
 8


 Campbeltown 
 3
 2
 9
 4
 2


 Cupar 
 7
 8
 7
 6
 7


 Dingwall 
 6
 20
 7
 16
 9


 Dornoch 
 1
 1
 2
 -
 -


 Dumbarton 
 26
 38
 51
 44
 67


 Dumfries 
 6
 21
 34
 42
 29


 Dundee 
 27
 40
 41
 52
 77


 Dunfermline 
 20
 18
 26
 25
 22


 Dunoon 
 5
 5
 5
 4
 4


 Duns 
 4
 2
 9
 5
 3


 Edinburgh 
 103
 189
 173
 158
 187


 Elgin 
 16
 15
 12
 17
 20


 Falkirk 
 41
 40
 57
 46
 55


 Forfar 
 7
 11
 8
 10
 17


 Fort William 
 5
 3
 8
 4
 2


 Glasgow 
 327
 331
 347
 353
 403


 Greenock 
 43
 36
 40
 36
 42


 Haddington 
 7
 17
 18
 5
 16


 Hamilton 
 55
 83
 93
 63
 124


 Inverness 
 36
 41
 19
 47
 73


 Jedburgh 
 9
 17
 15
 13
 12


 Kilmarnock 
 103
 78
 82
 95
 84


 Kirkcaldy 
 33
 43
 41
 30
 43


 Kirkcudbright
 6
 13
 7
 2
 8


 Kirkwall 
 4
 4
 2
 1
 3


 Lanark 
 9
 5
 3
 7
 9


 Lerwick 
 1
 6
 9
 7
 15


 Linlithgow 
 27
 56
 47
 50
 39


 Lochmaddy 
 1
 1
 -
 1
 -


 Oban 
 5
 6
 5
 3
 8


 Paisley 
 25
 25
 28
 53
 61


 Peebles 
 2
 5
 2
 8
 4


 Perth 
 47
 64
 71
 56
 64


 Peterhead 
 13
 12
 20
 27
 33


 Portree 
 1
 -
 1
 1
 3


 Rothesay 
 -
 -
 5
 3
 -


 Selkirk 
 8
 10
 11
 11
 12


 Stirling 
 33
 30
 27
 22
 36


 Stonehaven 
 -
 -
 6
 3
 7


 Stornoway 
 3
 5
 2
 8
 6


 Stranraer 
 18
 19
 23
 13
 13


 Tain 
 12
 10
 8
 9
 5


 Wick 
 3
 2
 7
 7
 4


 All sheriff courts
 1,279
 1,528
 1,623
 1,628
 1,914


 All courts3
 1,634
 1,820
 1,867
 1,867
 2,145



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Covers the crime categories "illegal importation of drugs", "possession, manufacture or cultivation of drugs", "supply, possession with intent to supply etc of drugs" and "other drugs offences".

  3. Includes High Court convictions.

Education

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21583 by Keith Brown on 25 March 2009, how much additional funding has been provided to subsidise five days of outdoor education for schools in deprived communities and how many schools in the 10 most deprived council wards provide five days of outdoor education.

Keith Brown: As I said in my answer to question S3W-21583 on 25 March 2009, we will, in due course, bring forward detailed proposals for allocating the additional £1 million budget commitment to assist with outdoor education.

  We do not gather information centrally on which schools provide five days of outdoor education.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Employment

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the links are between Skills Development Scotland and community planning partnerships in addressing employability issues.

Fiona Hyslop: Skills Development Scotland work with community planning partnerships (CPPs) to address employability issues through joint pursuit of a range of priorities including:

  On employability - Workforce Plus; Integrated Employment and Skills; Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE)

  On young people – More Choices More Chances; Curriculum for Excellence; 16+ Learning Choices

  On National Training Programmes - Modern Apprenticeships (MA), Get Ready for Work (GRfW) and Training For Work (TFW)

  On literacy and numeracy – The Big Plus.

Employment Tribunals

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local government employees have been dismissed in the Lothians, broken down by local authority and showing those dismissed for (a) gross misconduct, (b) capability - general, (c) capability - ill health and (d) other reasons in each of the last five years.

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many dismissed local government employees in the Lothians sought an employment tribunal, broken down by local authority and number of dismissals for (a) gross misconduct, (b) capability - general, (c) capability - ill health and (d) other reasons in each of the last five years.

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many dismissed local government employees in the Lothians who sought an employment tribunal cited disability discrimination, broken down by local authority and number of dismissels for (a) gross misconduct, (b) capability - general, (c) capability - ill health and (d) other reasons in each of the last five years.

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many cases involving dismissed local government employees in the Lothians were settled outwith an employment tribunal and what amounts were paid, broken down by local authority and number of dismissals for (a) gross misconduct, (b) capability - general, (c) capability - ill health and (d) other reasons in each of the last five years.

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on what the cost was of legal fees for defending the position of each local authority in the Lothians at employment tribunals, broken down by cases of (a) gross misconduct, (b) capability - general, (c) capability - ill health and (d) other reasons in each of the last five years.

John Swinney: The information requested is not held centrally. The details are a matter for each local authority within the Lothians area.

Energy

Aileen Campbell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations govern the installation and maintenance of domestic fuel oil storage tanks.

Jim Mather: The installation of oil storage tanks used for heating or cooking facilities to all building types is covered by the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

  Such structures may require an application for planning permission to the planning authority. However, permitted development rights (PDR) grant a Scotland-wide planning permission, removing the need for a planning application, for various developments, in areas ranging from householder developments to development at airports, which might cover these structures depending on the circumstances. Specific PDR apply, for example, to a container for the storage of oil or liquefied petroleum gas within the garden of a dwelling house. These particular PDR are subject to conditions on size and location to protect visual amenity.

  The maintenance of oil tanks is not covered by the building regulations. However, action may be taken under Section 28 (Defective Buildings) of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 where a local authority considers that a tank has defects that require to be dealt with to prevent significant deterioration.

Energy

Aileen Campbell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the evaporation of fuel oil held in storage in Scotland.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government does not hold such information. Evaporation and safety of fuel oil storage is a matter for the operator and the Health and Safety Executive.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21785 by Jim Mather on 25 March 2009, how much will be available and what the eligibility criteria will be for its "significant loan mechanism" to promote energy efficiency.

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21785 by Jim Mather on 25 March 2009, when its "significant loan mechanism" to promote energy efficiency will be available to householders.

Jim Mather: Proposals for low interest loans, interest-free loans or equity based loan schemes for a range of purposes, including investing in homes energy efficiency measures, will come forward later in the year.

Epilepsy

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost of epilepsy operations has been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: A definitive group of procedures specifically attributable to the treatment of epilepsy is not available from central records.

  Information on the costs of epilepsy operations is not, therefore, available.

Fertility Services

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times guidance on infertility services has been issued to NHS boards in the last five years.

Shona Robison: The Report of the Review of Infertility Services in Scotland, including an update in criteria, issued to NHS boards in April 2007. A further letter issued in December 2008 with a recap of the updated criteria and a request for progress on implementation in each NHS board area.

Fisheries

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what alternative arrangements it has put in place in the event that Scottish-based fishing quota owners and boats do not join the proposed fishing quota and management licensing system.

Richard Lochhead: The proposals for a Scottish quota management and licensing system would apply to all Scottish vessels and quota holders as defined in the consultation document Safeguarding Our Fishing Rights: The Future of Quota Management and Licensing in Scotland - Interim outcome of consultation report .

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what levy was collected in Scotland by Seafish in the last year for which information is available, broken down by (a) wild fish and shellfish landings, (b) farmed fish and shellfish production and (c) imports.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what levy was collected in Shetland by Seafish in the last year for which information is available, broken down by (a) wild fish and shellfish landings, (b) farmed fish and shellfish production and (c) imports.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what levy was collected by Seafish from landings by Lerwick registered fishing vessels in the last year for which information is available, broken down by (a) landings made in Shetland and (b) landings made elsewhere.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total expenditure by Seafish was in the last year for which information is available, broken down by expenditure on (a) research, (b) business development and (c) administration.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total expenditure by Seafish was in Shetland in the last year for which information is available, broken down by expenditure on (a) research, (b) business development and (c) administration.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the research projects funded by Seafish in the last year for which information is available, detailing the (a) research contractor, (b) value of the research contract and (c) an outline of the research in each case.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government does not hold the records you requested centrally. Your request should be directed to John Rutherford, Chief Executive, Sea Fish Industry Authority, 18 Logie Mill, Logie Green Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4HS. Email address: J_Rutherford@seafish.co.uk.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing’s announcement in a press release on 9 March 2009, whether a chief inspector for the Care Environment Inspectorate has been appointed.

Nicola Sturgeon: The post of Chief Inspector of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate was advertised on 24 March 2009. Interviews will be held on Friday 8 May 2009, the earliest practicable date for the selection panel to meet.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the post of chief inspector for the Care Environment Inspectorate has been advertised and, if so, where and when.

Nicola Sturgeon: The post of Chief Inspector of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate was advertised in The Herald and The Scotsman on 24 March 2009 and the Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday on 29 March 2009, with a closing date of 6 April 2009. The post was also advertised in S1Jobs.com and the NHS (SHOW) website and internally in the NHS.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, if a chief inspector for the Care Environment Inspectorate has not yet been appointed, when it is anticipated that they will be in post.

Nicola Sturgeon: Interviews for the post of Chief Executive of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will take place on Friday 8 May 2009 the earliest practicable date for the selection panel to meet. The date on which the new chief inspector takes up post will be confirmed following the selection process.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the composition is of the teams that will undertake inspections for the Care Environment Inspectorate.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Chief Inspector of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will be supported by regional inspectors and associated inspectors, including members of the public, and a range of specialists and experts reflecting the need to ensure that appropriate standards in the care environment, with regards to healthcare associated infection, are being achieved.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is for recruiting and establishing inspection teams for the Care Environment Inspectorate.

Nicola Sturgeon: The regional inspector posts were advertised on 24 April 2009 and associate inspector posts were advertised the week beginning Monday 29 April 2009.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is for individual inspections by the Care Environment Inspectorate to commence.

Nicola Sturgeon: Pilot visits are anticipated to commence in May 2009 with the visit schedule fully operational from September 2009. All acute hospitals will receive at least one announced and one unannounced visit within a three year cycle.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how inspection teams in the Care Environment Inspectorate will operate when carrying out hospital inspections and, specifically, whether protocols will be developed.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will publish its detailed operational arrangements for undertaking inspections when these have been finalised following the appointment of the chief inspector.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the Care Environment Inspectorate will follow up inspections.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will require NHS boards to publish an improvement plan to ensure all necessary action is taken. There is a clear intention to ensure rigorous follow-up on findings and recommendations through scrutiny and challenge of NHS board action plans and on the basis of further announced and unannounced visits to provide necessary levels of assurance and accountability. The chief inspector will be able to raise specific concerns directly with Scottish ministers and an escalation process will be in place.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reasons it believes that the Care Environment Inspectorate is independent of government when it is based within NHS Quality Improvement Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will operate independently of the Scottish Government and of NHS boards which will be the subject of its inspections. The reports, findings and recommendations of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will be published independently.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive to whom the Care Environment Inspectorate will report.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will be accountable to report to Scottish ministers through the board of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. The reports, findings and recommendations of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will be made public.

Health

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much addictions have cost NHS Lothian in each of the last three years.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has directly provided the following funding to NHS Lothian for addiction related services over 2005-08.

  The figures in the table indicate, rounded up, how much the Scottish Government has allocated for addressing alcohol misuse, drugs misuse and the provision of smoking cessation services.

  

 
 Alcohol
 Drugs
 Smoking Cessation


 2006-07
£1,107,000
£4,645,000
£1,048,000


 2007-08
£1,132,000
£4,645,000
£1,311,000


 2008-09
£3,401,000
£4,821,000
£1,311,000



  NHS Lothian spend larger sums on the downstream costs of addiction problems such as liver disease and oral cancer. However, this is not information the Scottish Government holds centrally.

Health

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected cost is of the eHealth programme.

Nicola Sturgeon: The eHealth budget is set out below. This incorporates support for key elements of the existing IT infrastructure of NHSScotland, such as national products like SCI Store and the Emergency Care Summary and significant contributions to the investment in connecting the NHSScotland through the N3 broadband contract. It also includes the funds being made available to take forward new work in support of the improvements set out in the eHealth Strategy.

  

 Financial Year
Revenue £ Million
Capital £ Million
Total £ Million


 2008-09
 *£72.2
£55
£127.2


 2009-10
 *£97.2
£60
£157.2


 2010-11
£139.7
£50
£189.7


 Total
£309.1
£165
£474.1



  Note: *Budget Bill amendment - Revenue reduced by £5 million in 2008-09 and returned in 2009-10.

Health

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost is of IT for the eHealth programme, including infrastructure.

Nicola Sturgeon: In the 2006-07 financial year NHS Scotland instituted its first national survey of Information Management and Technology (IM&T) expenditure.

  The survey highlighted that IM&T expenditure in Scotland was just under £227 million in 2006-07. The combination of capital and revenue amounting to £227 million of which 78% was spent on computer software, hardware and related services.

  It is intended that a further IM&T survey will be carried out for financial year 2008-09

Health

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for the delivery of the electronic health record.

Nicola Sturgeon: The eHealth Programme is currently being advised by the Clinical Change Leadership Group (CCLG) to prioritise which types of electronic information is most important to clinicians in NHS Scotland. The advice from CCLG will be used to inform a clinical portal programme, which will give health boards the capability to deliver a virtual Electronic Patient Record by assembling the agreed information elements of the electronic patient record and displaying it in the clinical portal. It is expected that a clinical portal technology pilot will be completed in one health board during 2009.

Health

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reasons clinicians do not have an overall leadership role in the eHealth programme.

Nicola Sturgeon: The eHealth Programme is patient-focused, clinically-led and benefits-driven. The membership of the eHealth Strategy Board includes the Chief Medical Officer, the Medical Director of NHS Lothian, the Clinical Director/Chief Operating Officer of NHS 24, the Director of the RCM, the Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the Chief Executive of NHS Tayside, the Medical Director of NHS Lothian and the Medical Director/Chief Operating Officer of NHS 24.

  The membership of the eHealth Programme Board includes the Chair and Co-Chair of the Clinical Change Leadership Group. The Clinical Change Leadership Group (CCLG) includes NHS board eHealth clinical leads, national eHealth clinical leads, and other key stakeholder groups.

  The CCLG establishes a consensus view on clinical priorities for eHealth in NHS Scotland, and these are built in to the eHealth Programme through the eHealth Strategy Board and eHealth Programme Board.

Health

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the eHealth network will be designed to support all useful types of applications and whether the applications will be designed to take data from the network in standard formats.

Nicola Sturgeon: The eHealth network is designed on industry standard internet protocol technology allowing a common form of transport to support all applications, supplementary to this applications are sized to ensure their design operates within the available capacity of the eHealth network. Scottish Government eHealth strategic direction for application design recommends a standards based approach with a preference for open standards ensuring the maximum level of interoperability.

Health

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether patients, physicians and institutions directly involved with patients care will have control over who can access patient data.

Nicola Sturgeon: Safeguarding patient confidentiality is important, hence parties not directly involved with patients have no control over disclosure of patient data for non care-related purposes such as teaching, clinical trials and disclosure to the media. A few exceptions in law exist, such as notifiable diseases. The NHS also requires explicit consent from the patient for sharing information with other agencies such as social work.

  It may be helpful to be aware of the "Caldicott Principles" set out below which underpin the approach that NHS organisations take to restrict access to person identifiable information:

  Principle 1 - Justify the purpose(s) for using confidential information

  Principle 2 - Only use it when absolutely necessary

  Principle 3 - Use the minimum that is required

  Principle 4 - Access should be on a strict need-to-know basis

  Principle 5 - Everyone must understand their responsibilities

  Principle 6 - Understand and comply with the law.

Health

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be formal agreements regarding the exchange of health information within the NHS.

Nicola Sturgeon: The requirement for formal agreements has been in place since 1999. Each NHS board has a "Caldicott Guardian" (a senior health professional) who is responsible for overseeing all arrangements, protocols and procedures where confidential patient information may be shared both within and outside the NHS. The circular in question can be found at:

  www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/1999_19.doc.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22508 by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 April 2009, whether it will publish the outcome of the review by Health Protection Scotland of infection control arrangements in NHS Orkney.

Nicola Sturgeon: A copy of the Health Protection Scotland (HPS) report has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 48082).

Higher Education

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the University of Stirling’s proposed amendment to its statutes will have a negative impact on conditions of employment for university staff.

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it will make to the Privy Council when it considers the University of Stirling’s proposed changes to its charter and statutes.

Fiona Hyslop: The amendments have been referred by the Privy Council to Scottish ministers for comments. We are currently considering the details of the university’s proposals before responding.

In Care Survivors Service Scotland

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many calls have been received by the In Care Survivors Service Scotland since it was set up in November 2008.

Adam Ingram: The In Care Survivors Service Scotland, a government-funded support service for adults who suffered childhood abuse in care and their families, which was set up in November 2008 is required as part of its contract to report on numbers of calls received to Scottish Government on a six-monthly basis. The first such report is therefore not yet available. However, we understand that the service has dealt with around 350 calls to date.

In Care Survivors Service Scotland

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the concerns of the victims of historic child abuse that the In Care Survivors Service Scotland fails to address their key demand for legal support in order to pursue the individuals and organisations responsible for their abuse through the courts, whether it will review the service.

Adam Ingram: There are no plans to review the remit of the In Care Survivors Service Scotland. In accepting the recommendations of independent expert Tom Shaw, the Scottish Government agreed to set up a national hub to provide advocacy, mediation and counselling services to survivors of in-care abuse.

  The remit of the service was developed and agreed by a subgroup made up of survivors and representatives from the Association of Directors of Social Work (ADSW), the Scottish Institute For Residential Child Care (SIRCC) and the Scottish Government’s health and education departments. While part of the remit of the service is to provide an advocacy and signposting service on accessing the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and other relevant legal services, it was not set up to provide legal support to survivors.

In Care Survivors Service Scotland

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases have been dealt with by the In Care Survivors Service Scotland since it was set up in November 2008.

Adam Ingram: The In Care Survivors Service Scotland, a government-funded support service for adults who suffered childhood abuse in care and their families which was set up in November 2008 is required as part of its contract to report on numbers of cases dealt with to Scottish Government on a six-monthly basis. The first such report is therefore not yet available. However, we understand that the service currently has a caseload of over 60 clients.

Local Government

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussion it has had with South Ayrshire Council regarding job losses in the Carrick area.

Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government is working with South Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership to establish an employability group of stakeholders, from the public, third, and private sectors, which will include South Ayrshire Council. The group will aim to link closely with PACE (Partnership Action for Continuing Employment) activity in the area to ensure local residents benefit from a co-ordinated employability offer across the council area.

Local Government Finance

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22887 by John Swinney on 21 April 2009, whether the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth intends to have discussions with South Ayrshire Council regarding the findings of the recent best value audit of the council carried out by Audit Scotland on behalf of the Accounts Commission.

John Swinney: I wrote to the Leader of South Ayrshire Council on 23 April to express my concern about the Best Value audit report, and to urge that the council takes the necessary remedial action to address the shortcomings it highlighted. However, I have no immediate plans to meet with the council.

Local Government Staff

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were employed by each local authority in the Lothians in each of the last five years.

John Swinney: The number of people employed by each of the four local authorities in the Lothians area in each of the last five years is shown in the following table. The information is available on a quarterly basis.

  

 
 West Lothian
 East Lothian
 Midlothian
 City of Edinburgh


 Q1 2004
 7,739
 4,586
 4,588
 20,736


 Q2 2004
 7,895
 4,619
 4,548
 20,599


 Q3 2004
 7,974
 4,571
 4,380
 20,522


 Q4 2004
 8,019
 4,612
 4,583
 21,041


 Q1 2005
 8,034
 4,615
 4,596
 20,858


 Q2 2005
 8,127
 4,764
 4,538
 20,900


 Q3 2005
 8,115
 4,766
 4,500
 20,583


 Q4 2005
 8,132
 4,845
 4,664
 21,116


 Q1 2006
 8,163
 4,929
 4,779
 21,435


 Q2 2006
 8,183
 4,790
 4,376
 21,042


 Q3 2006
 8,286
 4,869
 4,209
 20,630


 Q4 2006
 8,321
 4,869
 4,683
 20,630


 Q1 2007
 8,321
 4,869
 4,665
 20,994


 Q2 2007
 8,326
 4,985
 4,521
 20,773


 Q3 2007
 8,326
 4,985
 4,580
 20,483


 Q4 2007
 8,365
 4,962
 4,768
 20,812


 Q1 2008
 8,374
 5,015
 4,757
 20,471


 Q2 2008
 8,406
 4,925
 4,848
 20,195


 Q3 2008
 8,419
 4,902
 4,734
 20,116


 Q4 2008
 8,437
 5,031
 4,847
 19,401



  Source: Joint Staffing Watch Survey, Scottish Government.

  Notes:

  1. Data are on a head count basis and not seasonally adjusted and therefore comparisons between years should only be made for the same quarter in each year.

  2. Where a local authority fails to make a return for one quarter, the data for the last return available are used.

  3. The reference date for Q1 is March, for Q2 is June, for Q3 is September and for Q4 is December in each year.

Nursing

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pre-registration student nurse and midwifery intake training places there are for 2009-10, also broken down by (a) adult nursing, (b) mental health nursing, (c) learning disability nursing, (d) children’s nursing and (e) midwifery.

Nicola Sturgeon: The pre-registration nursing and midwifery student intake for 2009-10 is 3,060, broken down as set out in the following table.

  

 Adult
 2,209


 Mental health
 404


 Learning disability
 60


 Child
 203


 Midwifery
 184

Nursing

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pre-registration student nurse and midwifery intake training places there are for each higher education institution in 2009-10, also broken down by (a) adult nursing, (b) mental health nursing, (c) learning disability nursing, (d) children’s nursing and (e) midwifery.

Nicola Sturgeon: The pre-registration nursing and midwifery student intake for 2009-10 is 3,060, broken down as set out in the table below.

  

 Higher Education Institution
 Adult Nursing
 Mental Health Nursing
 Learning Disability Nursing
 Children’s Nursing
 Midwifery
 Total


 Dundee University
 332
 57
 
 32
 20
 441


 Glasgow Caledonian University
 349
 61
 30
 60
 21
 521


 Napier University
 420
 61
 30
 75
 36
 622


 The Robert Gordon University
 208
 30
 
 36
 24
 298


 Stirling University
 268
 73
 
 
 26
 367


 University of the West of Scotland
 609
 122
 
 
 57
 788


 The Open University
 23
 
 
 
 
 23


 Total
 2,209
 404
 60
 203
 184
 3,060

People with Learning Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the role is of a learning disability liaison nurse.

Nicola Sturgeon: A learning disability liaison nurse will help support people with a learning disability to access acute health services and promote appropriate health care for the individual.

  They will work with the individual, their families or carers and health staff to promote positive experiences, outcomes and co-ordination of care for the person.

People with Learning Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have learning disability liaison nurses; how many there are in each NHS board area, and where they are based.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally.

  However, information provided in boards’ fatal accident inquiry action plans indicates the following liaison nurses for people with a learning disability are in post.

  

 NHS Ayrshire and Arran
 3 acute liaison nurses


 NHS Borders
 1 acute liaison nurse


 NHS Fife
 1 acute liaison nurse


 NHS Forth Valley
 1 acute liaison nurse


 NHS Grampian
 1 acute liaison nurse


 NHS Highland
 1 acute liaison nurse


 NHS Lanarkshire
 1 acute liaison nurse


 NHS Lothian
 2 acute liaison nurses


 NHS Tayside
 Consultant nurse with 50% clinical time for acute liaison



  These plans also indicate other areas are considering the appointment of liaison nurses or other ways of delivering better care in general and acute hospitals.

  We have no information on where the current posts are based.

People with Learning Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it issues guidance to NHS boards on improving the patient journey for people with learning disabilities accessing emergency or elective care.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Fair for All agenda seeks to ensure that "whatever the individual circumstances of people’s lives, they have access to the right health services for their needs".

  Guidance entitled Achieving fair access was produced and issued to the NHS by the Fair for All – Disability team in April 2007 and is available at http://www.healthscotland.com/documents/2033.aspx.

  Section 4 of the guidance covers Accessible service delivery and Section 4.4 provides advice on Admission to health services.

  The six strands of the Fair for All initiative were mainstreamed within NHS Health Scotland with effect from 1 April 2008.

  The Scottish Government is supporting NHS boards to take forward a change programme to address the health inequalities facing people with a learning disability and/or autism spectrum disorder. A learning network of NHS boards will give them a forum to share learning and good practice including the role and effectiveness of liaison nurses.

Procurement

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish a Scottish Sustainable Procurement Action Plan.

John Swinney: Drafting of the Action Plan is at an advanced stage and we anticipate that it will be submitted to the Public Procurement Reform Board for consideration and acceptance within the next month. Once it has been accepted, we will then be in a position to publish it.

Procurement

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what stakeholder organisations it expects to consult in the preparation of a Scottish Sustainable Procurement Action Plan.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government is producing the action plan to assist the public sector to understand what sustainable procurement is, why it is important and how to go about achieving it. Consultation has taken place with all key stakeholders and relevant policy areas within the Scottish Government, and we have used events such as the Procurex conference, Scottish Sustainable Network conference, The Scottish Sustainable Network Working Group on Sustainable Procurement meetings and the Association of Public Service Excellence conference to discuss the plan with interested parties.

Public Transport

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many offences on public transport were recorded by the police in 2008, broken down by force.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

  The Scottish Government does not hold individualised data on any crimes or offences recorded by the eight police forces in Scotland, and as such does not hold information on the victims of crimes or the location at which the crime took place. It is not therefore possible to identify the number of offences on public transport recorded by the police in 2008.

  However, information on crimes and offences for Scotland recorded by the British Transport Police (the national police force for the railways providing a policing service to rail operators) can be found in their annual statistical bulletins. Copies of the bulletin for 2007-08 are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47935).

Public Transport

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many offences on public transport were recorded by the police in 2007, broken down by force.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

  The Scottish Government does not hold individualised data on any crimes or offences recorded by the eight police forces in Scotland, and as such does not hold information on the victims of crimes or the location at which the crime took place. It is not therefore possible to identify the number of offences on public transport recorded by the police in 2007.

  However, information on crimes and offences for Scotland recorded by the British Transport Police (the national police force for the railways providing a policing service to rail operators) can be found in their annual statistical bulletins. Copies of the bulletin for 2006-07 are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47934).

Regeneration

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the membership will be of the independent advisory panel that will advise ministers on the allocation of the Town Centre Regeneration Fund.

Alex Neil: Information on applications to the Town Centre Regeneration Fund will be considered by a small independent panel, which will include a representative from local government, from the private sector and an independent chair. Their role will be to recommend to ministers the allocations that should be made. The membership of the panel will be confirmed in due course.

Regeneration

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it will make available to South Lanarkshire Council to assist with the economic Regeneration of Clydesdale.

John Swinney: South Lanarkshire Council will receive £1,245.2 million through its Local Government Finance Settlements over 2008-10. The council received £605.1 million in 2008-09 and will receive £640.1 million during 2009-10. This represents an increase of 5.8 per cent on 2008-09. Decisions on the amount of resources allocated to the economic regeneration of the Clydesdale area are a matter for South Lanarkshire Council in consultation with their community planning partners.

Registers of Scotland

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what redress is available if the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland makes an error in registering a title.

John Swinney: Where the Land Register is inaccurate (whether due to an error by the Keeper or for any other reason) a person may apply for rectification of the Register. The circumstances in which the Keeper may rectify the Register to remove an inaccuracy are set out in section 9 of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979.

  Subsection (1) of section 9 confers on the Keeper a general power to rectify any inaccuracy in the register, either on his own initiative, or on being requested to do so. It also requires the Keeper to rectify an inaccuracy on being so ordered by a court or the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.

  Subsection (3) of section 9 limits both the Keeper’s power to rectify the Land Register and also the power of the court or the Lands Tribunal for Scotland to order the Keeper to rectify. If rectification of the Land Register would prejudice a proprietor who is in possession of the registered title the circumstances in which rectification is permissible are limited. These are: where everyone whose interests are likely to be affected by the rectification have agreed; where the rectification is to note an overriding interest (a form of right that does not require to be constituted in a conveyancing deed such as certain forms of access right); where the inaccuracy has been caused by fraud or carelessness, or where the title is not fully guaranteed (this can happen where there is an element of uncertainty in the underlying title).

  If rectification is not legally permissible and the person seeking rectification has suffered loss as a result of that they may be entitled to be indemnified by the Keeper in respect of that loss. If rectification is legally permissible, a person who suffers loss as a result of the rectification may equally be entitled to be indemnified by the Keeper.

  The entitlement to indemnity is provided by section 12 of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979 and is subject to a number of exceptions. Examples include where the Keeper has expressly excluded his indemnity when registering the title or where specified matters could not have been known to the Keeper, and on occasion the applicant, when an application was presented for registration.

  Where the Keeper refuses an application to rectify, that decision may be challenged in a court or the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.

Registers of Scotland

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland takes when registering a title.

John Swinney: The Land Register is designed to be definitive as to the nature and extent of title. Section 5 of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979 requires the Keeper to complete registration in respect of a property title by making up a title sheet for it in the Land Register. The content of the title sheet is set out in section 6 of that act and includes a description of the property, the names of the proprietors, details of any charges over the property and title conditions and rights affecting the property. The title sheet also includes a title plan on which the extent of the registered property is shown. The Keeper creates a title sheet for a property based upon the deed submitted for registration, accompanying documentation including the application form, and where the property is being registered in the Land Register for the first time, prior deeds relating to that property as recorded in the General Register of Sasines.

Registers of Scotland

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in what circumstances the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland would determine that a title would be without exclusion of indemnity.

John Swinney: The Keeper creates a title sheet for a property based upon the deed submitted for registration, accompanying documentation including the application form, and where the property is being registered in the Land Register for the first time, prior deeds for that property as recorded in the General Register of Sasines. The Keeper may also request additional evidence from the applicant that he considers necessary to evidence the legal title of the property in respect of which registration is being sought. If the information provided and the examination of title by the Keeper does not reveal any legal or title discrepancy, a title sheet will be completed without exclusion of indemnity.

Registers of Scotland

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Land Register of Scotland or the Register of Sasines carries more weight in the consideration of titles.

John Swinney: The General Register of Sasines is a register of deeds in which conveyancing deeds are lodged. The fact that a deed appears in the General Register of Sasines does not guarantee its validity, merely that it is competent to be recorded. The state and quality of a title to a property must be deduced by examination of the relevant deeds relating to that property as recorded in this register.

  By contrast, the Land Register is a register of title whereby title flows from the entry for a property in the Register. Section 5 of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979 requires the Keeper to complete registration in respect of a property title by making up a title sheet for it in the Land Register. The title sheet includes a description of the property, the names of the proprietors, details of any charges over the property and title conditions and rights affecting the property. The title sheet also includes a title plan on which the extent of the registered property is shown. Except for "over-riding interests" as defined in section 28 of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979, the title sheet is determinative of title. (An overriding interest is, in relation to an interest in land, a right or interest that does not have to be constituted in a conveyancing deed, for example certain types of access right.)

Rural Development

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the original budget allocation was for the (a) agri-environment, (b) business development and (c) forestry elements of the Rural Priorities scheme.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) financial tables set out the funding available for each of the 30 European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development measures the programme draws on. These are grouped under eight broad headings in the Scottish Government budget. The different parts of the SRDP are funded through one or more of these budget lines.

  In order to retain budget flexibility and in response to stakeholders’ views, the budget provision for Rural Priorities was not ring-fenced in total or within each budget line. Rural Priorities spending comes from budget headings which also fund other SRDP spending, for instance on Land Managers Options and on "legacy" payments for agreements entered into under the previous programme.

  At the start of the SRDP, taking assumptions for the amount of spending on the other elements within the relevant budget headings, around £500 million was expected to be available for new commitments under Rural Priorities overall. The amount actually available for new commitments under Rural Priorities will depend on a number of factors, including the level of uptake for demand-led elements within the relevant budget headings, and any future policy changes.

  Of the £500 million, the following sums fell within the budget headings for agri-environment, business development and forestry:

  

 (a) Agri-Environment
£170 million


 (b) Business Development
£ 90 million


 (c) Forestry
£150 million